A Stable Beginning

Friday, September 28, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up ~ After vacation, week 5

In my life this week… sometimes I need a vacation from my vacation (and I mean this in the nicest way ever!) We went to Great Wolf Lodge, Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, and D.C. with great friends and fellow homeschoolers. We had.a.blast!!! Then Sunday afternoon I started feeling bad. Bad as in fever and head cold and no lesson planning for the next week got done. Which then led to a mini melt-down on my part mid-week…because I felt so unprepared. But, you know what?!? The girls and I made it through and we actually accomplished A LOT of things this week. And no, I have not put up more vacation pictures yet, but I will hopefully get to it this weekend.

In our homeschool this week… we did just the basics, reading, writing, grammar, history, and science. I ended up switching my younger girls to just one History time period, Ancients & Middle Ages. We are currently following Sonlight’s Core G using Story of the World as our spine. Yes, we have done Ancients before but the girls were on different levels of the trivium. This time around we are doing more map work and more hands on activities which they love! It is working for us and they work so well together too. This week we started making Egyptian death masks out of papier mache. Oh so messy, but oh so fun! In science we learned that the sun’s rays act as a heating element as we brewed some tea and used the thermometer.

Mikayla scored a 100% on her spelling test, the 5TH week in a row! I love the way she is taking such ownership in her studies and applying herself this year! Marie plugged along in her classes as well. We had a little hiccup in Chemistry but we are back on track. This week she completes her first essay on the novel Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Madison scored A’s on both her math and grammar tests on Thursday! Yahoo!!! Such a great accomplishment for her. Montana learned a few new sight words and is getting better at decoding and sounding out new words. I am really excited about starting IEW’s PAL program with her next week.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… Monday we are heading up north for apple picking with the Zeno’s. We spent our vacation with them last week and Montana is really looking forward to seeing her friend Miss. G. We are all pretty excited to start off apple season.

My favorite thing this week was… having a picnic with friends today. We do not get to see them as much since we decided not to participate in co-op this year. It was great to spend the day enjoying each other’s company.

I’m reading… Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. It is a great book with a good story line. I need to find more time to read this weekend.

A photo to share…

Linking to:

~ Homeschool Mother’s Journal

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wordless Wednesdays

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Homeschool Legacy: Early Settlers in America ~ a TOS review

Imagine spending a week or more studying any topic in your homeschool or just for learning enrichment if you afterschool. Whether it be Native Americans, Knights & Nobles, Early Settlers, or digging into our Constitution Homeschool Legacy has you covered with there Once-A-Week Unit Studies.

Homeschool Legacy and Once-a-Week Unit Studies were born from my passion to help families build a strong, Godly, family legacy.

Due to the engaging and interactive nature of unit studies, they helped bring our family together, provided a lifetime of precious memories, and helped us build a strong, loving, Godly, family legacy. Both of our sons love the Lord, are pursuing their gifts and passions, and we are truly each other's best friends.

Once-a-Week Unit Studies are a result of my desire to help you experience those same blessings with the least amount of preparation on your part.

~ from website

Homeschool Legacy’s Once a Week Studies is a great companion for busy parents. Preparation time is minimal and you only need to make a quick stop to the library to pick up books. And unit studies are a great way to learn about any topic you fancy all the while covering the basics like Bible, reading, writing, history, and/or science. Want to know something else? These Once-A-Week Unit Studies correlate to your Boy Scouts or American Heritage Girls merit badges. How great is that! Your Boy Scout or American Heritage Girl will be able to earn merit badges all the while completing their everyday school work.

We were able to review the Early Settlers in America Unit Study that is spread out over a six week period. It retails for $17.95 and is appropriate for grades 2-12. Early Settlers in America covers:

Week 1: The Lost Colony – Roanoke, North Carolina

Week 2 The First Successful Settlement: Jamestown, Virginia

Week 3:Holland

Week 4: The Pilgrims – Plymouth, Massachusetts

Week 5: Pennsylvania

Week 6: New York/ Report on a Colony of Your Choosing

The author includes a schedule to show you how to fit it all in throughout the week.

Monday:

Your regular daily studies

Unit Study library reading selections

Unit Study Family Read-Aloud

Tuesday:

Your regular daily studies

Unit Study library reading selections

Unit Study Family Read-Aloud

Wednesday - Unit Study Day

Eliminate regular daily studies

Unit study Family Devotional

Unit study library reading selections

Unit Study Family Read-Aloud

Unit study Activities

Thursday:

Your regular daily studies

Unit Study library reading selections

Unit Study Family Read-Aloud

Friday:

The 3 R’s (including your unit study reading)

Unit Study Family Read-Aloud

Unit Study Field Trip (or on Saturday with Dad)

Family Movie Movie/Game Night (unit study related)

~ Scheduling your unit study from website

I primarily used this unit study with Mikayla as we had originally started out our school year studying the American History time period for her. We have since changed our history timeframe to keep us all in one time period. However, there are so many activities, great books, and projects to complete that we only made it through The Lost Colony and Jamestown segments by stretching each part out for two weeks each. I did not follow the schedule above because I needed to make it fit for our family. Instead of doing the program 5 days a week, I made it fit our schedule by working on it for 3 days a week and by switching Wednesday as our Unit Study Day to Fridays.

We enjoyed our study and concluded it with a trip to Jamestown for the Homeschool days they offer during the month of Sept. This was our first trip to Jamestown and we really enjoyed our tour as we strolled through the Powhatan Indian village and heard stories of Pocahontas and her family. We also toured the pier and one of the ships, the Constance. Ending our tour we walked around the Jamestown fort and explored some of the buildings.

Overall, this was a great experience using the Once-A-Day Unit study and being able to connect it with a trip to Jamestown. I could really tell that the info we learned from this unit study had sunk in as she was able to answer some of the questions during our class time and tour. For that, I highly recommend this program. I definitely think you should check this unit study our or one of the many others they offer including:

Birds of a Feather
Forest for the Trees
Horsing Around
Weather on the Move
Knights & Nobles
Native America
Early Settlers
Revolutionary Ideas
We the People: Getting to know your Constitution
Lewis & Clark
Christmas Comes to America

each of the unit studies ranges from $15.95 - $19.95.

Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of the Early Settlers Once-A-Day Unit Study and the 10 other unit studies being reviewed by clicking on the banner below.

Company ~ Homeschool Legacy

Product ~ Early Settlers in America

Price ~ $17.95

Ages ~ grades 2-12

DISCLAIMER: I received Early Settlers in America from Homeschool Legacy, in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

Monday, September 24, 2012

A few vacation pictures

What a great vacation we had! Here are a few pictures out of the 800 that we took. I plan on posting about the trip towards the end of the week. We had a blast and now it is back to work and school we go.

Children in Church: Nurturing Hearts of Worship~ a TOS review

Great Waters Press, which published the practical guide to Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, sent me one of their new books that is coming out. No, this review is not about the Raising Real Men book, because I um...have no boys. Rather, I was given the opportunity to review the book Children in Church: Nurturing Hearts of Worship.

Children in Church: Nurturing Hearts of Worship was written by Curt and Sandra Lovelace – international speakers, writers, and missionaries to the Czech Republic with Lifework Forum. The Lovelaces homeschooled their own children, who are now grown, and served on staff at L’Abri in Switzerland. They’ve served as missionaries in the Cayman Islands, worked in a small rural church in Maine, and led homeschool conferences in Bosnia. They have been married for 43 years. Their current mission, through Lifework Forum, is to provide support for homeschoolers internationally, missionaries, expats, and nationals. They currently live in Prague and minister to homeschoolers in Europe and Africa, using their vast experience to bless others. ~ from website

Here's a look at the Table of Contents :

1. Bringing Them In

2. Understanding the Elements

3. Counting the Cost

4. Laying the Foundation

5. Getting Ready

6. Packing the Bag

7. Drawing the Word

8. Preparing the Plan

9. Facing the Challenges

10. Growing as Disciples

*A Note to Church Leaders

This book was written to show that "corporate worship" is designed to be shared with your children and not withheld from them by being separated from the complete family in a "children's church" program. The Lovelace's provide Scripture to back up there view about keeping Children in church throughout the book. With chapters including everything from the initial idea to pointers and preparations for making family worship happen. The Lovelace's have covered it all, from dealing with possible conflicts, packing the necessary supplies to keep the children occupied.

I love the premise of what this book is all about and found the tips very practical. However, we attend a wonderful church with an outstanding Children's church. My children enjoy going to "their church" and learning about God. I did really appreciate the tips for keeping the kids quite and entertained because our Christmas service is a joint service, and I intend to put into action the "church bag". Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this book and the other book being reviewed, A Cry From Egypt, by clicking the banner below.

Company ~ Great Waters Press

Product ~ Children in Church: Nurturing Hearts of Worship written by Curt and Sandra Lovelace

Price ~ $12.00 *advance purchase price with free shipping

Ages ~ for adults to use with their children 8 and under

DISCLAIMER: I received Children in Church book from Great Waters Press, in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided.